tardiness, apologies, movies, maple syrup

first of all, happy america day, internet! celebrate freedom from tyranny by making things explode nationwide!

secondly, sorry this post is so far separated from the promised tuesday...i was studying for exams/was at the beach/fell asleep/met an aardvark/one of my friends moved to north dakota...i really have no excuse (ps...only one of these things is actually false...guess!).

my tardiness aside, however, it's quite fortunate that i waited until today to post...i actually have something exciting to talk about! i went on a date with a certain presbyterian tonight, to kuba kuba in richmond, va's fan district, and then to the westhampton theatre to see john krasinski and maya rudolph in the new indie rom-com, "away we go."

first, the restaurant. for those you in/around/close to/visiting richmond, i MORE than recommend it. in fact, i urge (and if i see you in person, i might actually demand) you to go. it's a great selection of delicious cuban food, veggie-friendly, is very reasonably-priced, and serves fried plantains as a side dish. it's very full of life, and, surprisingly, very...richmond. i would never expect a cuban restaurant to make me feel so at home in the river city, but there i was, missing high school, yet again.

one of my favorite memories is from my freshman year, getting hopelessly lost on grove avenue with a friend, trying to direct them to my piano lesson. i think i was about 28 minutes late for a 30 minute lesson, but it was worth it, getting to know the ins and outs and one-way streets of the fan district, surrounded by an eclectic mix of architecure and people. living in the homogeneity of williamsburg (not even kidding, the website really is history.org) for so long makes me appreciate that diversity so much more than i ever did in high school. i'm might even be jealous of vcu.

maybe that's what it is about kuba kuba (and thus, richmond) that i loved so much tonight - the diversity, the energy, and the fun. sure, every city has its not-too-savory parts, i went to high school right in the middle of richmond's, but so do people - that doesn't mean we avoid them like the plague, right? there's something good in everything and everyone you meet, now matter how broken they seem.

please don't call me "that guy that reads christian blogs because it's the right thing to do" for this - i primarily do it because it's funny and makes for good thinking fodder - but john over at "stuff christians like" wrote a really awesome piece on how we (particularly the born-again christian folk) respond to the crap of life. check it out here. i may not agree with him theologically on many many things, but he makes a really solid point.

back to the real story of the day: "away we go."

what a great movie.

check out imdb for a brief synopsis (i don't want to give too much away accidentally by describing it myself). sam mendes presents a snapshot of perfectly normal, very funny people, who also happen to be portrayed by two of my favorite celebrities, constantly accompanied by the beautiful music of alexi murdoch. they encounter pregnancy, followed shortly by the crap of life, think about it for a while, and continue on their way. they're not traditional in any way, but at the same time...they're the very model of a modern major general who i want to be when i grow up - happy, loyal, and (weird, but true) a really awesome dad. watching john krasinski's character reminded me that i can do that someday, while laughing at myself.

also, if santa searches the interwebs, i would like him to know that i want a mellow acoustic-folk soundtrack for my life.

all in all, tonight was a good night, one that reminded me about the good things in life.

hooray!